Democrat Mia Hodgins: disgusted with the Rochester School Board making our school system the worst in New York State!

That’s right.

Democrat Mia Hodgins will be running for a seat on Rochester’s School Board on the Republican line.

Ms. Hodgins, a bright, energetic young woman, has long been disgusted with the School Board, whose antics have turned the Rochester City School District into the worst in New York State.

The incumbents seeking re-election to the School Board are neither embarrassed nor ashamed of that fact.

Ms. Hodgins did not get the Democratic endorsement to run on their ticket.

This is not surprising.

Despite frequent references to “Civics 101,” and the theoretical process of how politics works, the reality is that the various Democratic committees regard Citygov as a closed club and favors the incumbents, competent or otherwise, seeking re-election. Which is why, of the nine city offices up for grabs, eight went to the incumbents.

The exception was Cynthia Elliott from the School Board.

In fact, nothing outside of death, infirmity, scandal or moving out of Rochester will convince the leadership in those committees to consider fresh blood in office. That is because they consider themselves to be part of the status quo, which they seek to preserve.

It gives the our elected officials and politically appointed Citygov employees an almost incestuous and inbred feel, resembling “Honey Boo Boo.”

So Ms. Hodgins sought out the Republicans. The path to political advancement in Rochester and elsewhere is never without oddity.

State Senator Joe Robach, County Legislator Carmen Gamina and Chili Town Supervisor David Dunning all started out as Democrats. After they won their respective offices the first time, they promptly re-registered as Republicans.

Some Democrats in Rochester have referred to them as traitors, while forgetting the political flip-flopping of Rochester’s last two “Democratic” mayors.

Bob Duffy moved back into Rochester solely to become its police chief. Duffy then became a Democrat only to run for high political office.

Rochester’s current mayor became a Democrat in the fall of 2010, thirty seconds before Duffy appointed him deputy mayor. That conversion took place solely for Richards to mount the mayoral throne as Duffy’s proxy.

Billing Richards as a “Progressive Democrat” ( for the last few weeks, anyway ) seems to be nothing more than a marketing ploy to sell a product that does not exist.

It does suggest that the end justifies the means.

Green Party luminary Vinessa Buckland sought political office in the Town of Chili in 2011…on the Democratic line!

If politicians and elected officials are without scruple, they are also remarkably without prejudice. They will do whatever is necessary to get re-elected, shady or not.

For instance, three of the incumbents seeking re-election to Rochester’s City Council ( and all five of them got the official nod ) are on both the incumbent mayor AND the Honorable Lovely A. Warren’s petitions. This means that Carolee Conklin, Dana Miller and Loretta Scott have the campaign volunteers from BOTH camps getting them signatures, guaranteeing them a place on the primary ballot.

This suggests that they simply don’t care who gets to be mayor, as long as they get re-elected.

This historical word for this fence-sitting is “Mugwump.”

Given these facts, it is hard to accuse Ms. Hodgins of anything sinister.

The Rochester Republican Committee: A political corpse that doesn't know it is dead yet!

However, the question is why Ms. Hodgins would tie herself to the “Elephant’s Graveyard” that is the Rochester Republican Committee.

Well, owing to the Rochester Republican Committee’s advanced state of decrepitude, it won’t be running any candidates of their own. Ms. Hodgins will not have to face a primary election. And, if Ms. Hodgins gets enough Republican signatures on her petitions, she will be guaranteed, in sole prominence, the Republican line in November in the general election.

This suits the Rochester Republican Committee just fine. It can delude itself into pretending that it is still a political force in Rochester.

In fact, Ms. Hodgins’ candidacy underscores the fact that the Rochester Republican Committee has sunk to the level of a small third party. It has become a corpse that doesn’t know that it is dead yet.

For Ms. Hodgins, the negative side of the balance sheet should be perfectly clear: Democrats outnumber Republicans in Rochester more than five to one.

And everyone tends to vote straight party tickets, rarely looking beyond the D or R in front of the candidates’ names. Which has accounted for the incredible number of imbeciles that are repeatedly elected and re-elected to office, whether in the Democratic City of Rochester or Monroe county’s Republican controlled towns!

Ms. Hodgins has her work cut out for her.

But I will vote for her, regardless of what party line she is on, which is more than I can say for any of the incumbents, especially those on the School Board.

Every time there’s an election, it seems that political candidates come crawling out of the woodwork. They work hard for about six or seven months, being seen at various venues throughout the constituencies they hope to win, garnering support for their campaigns. T-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons and pens bearing their names are freely dispensed, cheap trinkets to remind us that they are running for something. Well, at least the t-shirts can be useful at a later date…to wash cars and floors with.

In ancient Rome, people were at least given bread and circuses.

Other accessories are spouses and children, reeking of mothballs since they were packed away and hermetically sealed in plastic after their last election campaigns.

In most cases, the various candidates’ nights throughout the area are the first and last times most people will ever see their elected officials until the next election, no matter how much they assure the various groups they speak in front of about the “special bond” they have with them.

Oh, well. It’s still nice to see who they are and what they have to say or how they respond to questions from the voters.

The Honorable Joe Morelle: A supporter of equality!

On Wednesday Night, October 3, the Maplewood Neighborhood Association had its “Candidates’ Night.” It was a low-key affair, because only four candidates showed up: Republican State Senator Joe Robach, the incumbent, who is running unopposed and now represents all of Maplewood; Democratic State Assemblyman the Honorable Joe Morelle, another incumbent, who is also running unopposed; Democratic State Assemblyman the Honorable Harry Bronson, the incumbent; and his Republican opponent, Peterson Vazquez.

The Honorable Harry Bronson: A tireless fighter for equality ( in all areas ) and human dignity!

Neither Maggie Brooks nor Louise Slaughter, slugging it out over a seat in the United States House of Representatives, were in attendance. Perhaps they had better things to do.

Each of the candidates were given five minutes to explain a little bit about themselves. The incumbents began with quick autobiographies, and then moved onto their work in the State Assembly or the State Senate. There was much praise for their bipartisan work in getting the budget passed on time this year, and then onto what they had done ( or plan to do ) for their constituencies.

And then, onto the question and answer session.

Oddly enough, most of that was about Rochester’s dismal school system, rather than about the economic distress Western New York State has been undergoing. These are areas over which these particular elected offices have very little clout, belonging primarily to Rochester’s School Board and, to some minor extent, the City Council. There were questions about returning to neighborhood schools, about the poor performance of the students in the schools, about “special needs” students. The candidates spent much of their time answering these questions; the incumbents from a more experienced standpoint, Vazquez from that of a parent who moved to the suburbs for the so-called “better schools,” only to eventually enroll his children in private schools.

While this is an important issue, a member of the audience reminded everyone of that fact, and a few minutes were dedicated to economic problems in the Rochester area.

There was one question I asked. It had nothing to do with the economy, or the schools or the local infrastructure. It had to do with human dignity. It was asked of each candidate present tonight:

“Last year, the state legalized “equal marriage.” Earlier this year, a Republican State Senator introduced a bill to repeal it. If such a bill were introduced into your respective houses, would you vote to repeal “equal marriage?”

The Honorables Harry Bronson and Joe Morelle, supporters of and fighters for equality, voted to legalize “equal marriage” in the State Assembly last year. They quickly affirmed their continued support for it by stating that they would never vote to repeal it.

Robach: Refused to answer the question about "equal marriage." He later claimed that the question was redundant.

State Senator Robach remained silent and never even attempted to answer the question.

It should be noted that Robach voted against “equal marriage” in ths State Senate last year. Robach has long been a proponent for “civil unions” for same-sex couples, an uncomfortable “half-way house” of separate but unequal. “Civil unions” might have been an acceptable stop gap a decade or so ago, but it is already an anachronism.

Robach later stated that he did not answer the question because it was “redundant.”

But really, what did Robach have to lose by answering yes or no? He’s running unopposed in his district!

Vazquez: Following Robach's lead, never attempted to answer the question about "equal marriage."

Peterson Vazquez also never bothered to answer the question. Perhaps he was merely playing “follow the leader” with Robach, and when Robach never replied, Vazquez also remained silent. Perhaps Vazquez was fearful of losing the suburban Conservative vote if he stated that he would not support repeal, or the support of wealthy Republicans funding his campaign.

Or perhaps we should take the old Latin maxim to heart: qui tacet consentiret ( “silence means consent” ).

If they would have said “yes” or “no,” at least we would have known where they stand on this issue.

And if anyone wishes to be gulled into believing that “equal marriage” is a done deal in New York State, one need only look at the State of Maine. “Equal marriage” was enacted there three years ago, only to be overturned by a referendum. Under the right circumstances ( such as complacency ), it could happen here.

At any rate, Maplewood got to see the candidates running for office who were willing to show up. And of these candidates, there’s only one actual “race” going on, between the Honorable Harry Bronson and Peterson Vazquez!

Take your pick. You can always check out their campaign websites if you need to know more about them, even if they are running unopposed.

Maplewood is MY neighborhood! When my late partner and I moved back to Rochester, THAT is where we chose to move! We liked the location; we became involved in our block club and the neighborhood. Currently, I sit on the Maplewood Neighborhood Association’s Board of Directors. I chair the Infrastructure Committee, and I sit on the Code Violations Committee.

In 1997, Tim and I even had our Union in our backyard; the small, intimate affair of twenty or so people ballooned into one hundred and twenty-five people, mostly relatives, who said “damned well about time!”

For those of you who don’t know what a “Union” is, it is a ceremony same-sex couples had to publicly celebrate their devotion and commitment to each other. It is usually performed by clergymen ( or clergywomen ) and also in some local churches. But we wanted to have our friends and family witness our taking vows in our own home. A “Union,” while being somewhat emotionally satisfying, has no force of law. This was in the days before Canada, some European countries and most of New England permitted same-sex marriages. A “Union” was the best we could hope for then. It gave us no legal rights, no status outside of that in our own families and in the gay community.

My Tim died seven years ago, and eighteen years of love and devotion ( and arguments, too ) had no legal recognition in law. It meant nothing. THAT hurt.

Yesterday, on the corner of Lake Avenue and Ridge Road, a Marriage Equality rally came to Maplewood, MY neighborhood! Of course, I was there!

The bill to legalize marriage equality is coming up before the New York State Senate. Maplewood is divided into two senatorial districts, both represented by Republicans: Joe Robach and Jim Alesi. Both senators have previously voted against the bill. Hence the location of the rally at the confluence of their districts.

Frankly, I don’t see why both Republicans who claim to be fiscal conservatives don’t understand that marriage equality is good for New York State. It will keep $180 million in New York State. It will take this football out of politics and allow people to choose between different economic programs to rebuild out shattered economy, rather than emotional issues. It is a stand for equality, and Republicans claim to be the party of equality!

So, there I was, on my home turf, wearing my “Rochester Republican Committee” t-shirt and cap, waving a rainbow flag. Some people flipped us the bird; far more honked their horns and gave us thumbs up!

I urge everyone out there, not just in Maplewood, to get on the phones to your state senators, especially the Republican ones who voted it down before, and tell them to support marriage equality. WE are taxpayers and voters, too. And we are not willing to settle for half a loaf anymore. They need to be reminded of that. And they need to be reminded that we WON’T forget who supported marriage equality, and who didn’t. This isn’t an issue over gay rights, but of HUMAN rights!

Contributors

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Rich Gardner has been writing about the history, culture and waterways of Upstate New York for years. His articles have appeared in U.S. and Canadian publications, and one book, Learning to Walk. He is an alumnus of Brighton High School and SUNY Geneseo. He operates Upstate Resume & Writing Service in Brighton and recently moved to Corn Hill, where he is already involved in community projects. "I enjoy the 'Aha!' moments of learning new things, conceptual and literal. City living is a great teacher."

Ken Warner grew up in Brockport and first experienced Rochester as a messenger boy for a law firm in Midtown Tower. He recently moved downtown into a loft on the 13th floor of the Temple Building with a view of the Liberty Poll and works in the Powers Building overlooking Rochester’s four corners as Executive Director for UNICON, an organization devoted to bringing economic development to the community. He hopes to use his Rochester Blog to share his observations from these unique views of downtown.